Induction - What happens when...? (Melb midwives/Hospital staff)

**ajw0108** · November 12th, 2007, 02:52 PM

Hi everyone,

I've just returned from my last obstetrician appointment (currently 1cm dilated at 41+2) & have had an induction scheduled for this coming Friday due to 'hospital protocol' insisting that no pregnancy passes 14 days overdue. Our 14th day is Saturday but inductions aren't scheduled on weekends.

We are registered with the Family Birth Centre attached to the hospital (not sure if I'm allowed to name the hospital in these forums??) but that means little when as soon as you're induced, you're shipped to the maternity ward until bub is born when you're allowed to return to the Birth Centre. We have our heart set on the most natural possible delivery & all CTGs and AFIs have so far shown a healthy, happy and obviously a bit too comfy baby.

So, my question is...what happens if we 'forget' our appointment on Friday and show up on Monday - can they refuse us?

We would love to give our little one every chance to make his/her own way into the world & two extra days may be all we need. In the meantime, I have acupuncture scheduled in the hope it may help us with our looming deadline.

Thanks for reading, any advice/information greatly appreciated.

Take care,

AJ.

**Antheia** · November 12th, 2007, 02:57 PM

They can't refuse nor can they make you have an induction if it is not medically needed(IMO being 14 days overdue is not a reason to induce unless something is wrong).

If you 'forget' your appointment then be prepared that they may possibly ring you to see where you are and have an answer ready for them. Or you could just plainly tell them you do not wish to have an induction because all is well with both you and bub. Your body, your baby, your choice.

Goodluck with whatever you decide to do.

**KatieRabbit** · November 12th, 2007, 05:28 PM

You have a dilemma here. If I were you I would be trying reflexology, prostaglandins, acupuncture etc etc all week. I know all tests are fine, but consider whether amniotic fluid may decrease over the weekend and bubs may get distressed and they can't induce you ie it turns into an emergency? Not trying to scare you but it is a consideration and you MAY feel responsible. Other thing is, if necessary an induction doesn't have to get in the way of your desire for a natural birth. Once induced, you can simply go about the birth in the manner in which you plan to- ie active, no drugs, no intervention etc. You can write on your birth plan what you want to happen after the induction so it is as natural as possible. You can still have it natural- aside from the induction and have a healthy bub. Good luck.

**Carrie** · November 12th, 2007, 05:38 PM

Hi AJ, sorry I can't help you with your question. I just wanted to wish you the best of luck and I really hope that you get to have a natural birth without induction. It seems so ridiculous that the hospital can dictate what you do with your body when both you and your baby are healthy. Surely they can't 'make' you have a medical proceedure that you don't want to have? I hope that you get lots of good advice from all the wonderful BB ladies!

**Snacks** · November 12th, 2007, 06:54 PM

Hi AJ, I'd like to wish you all the very best too. I'd be trying to negotiate with them - perhaps ask if you can have a scan on the Friday to ensure fluid levels are ok, then if nothing happens on the weekend book in for the induction on Monday? They might seem adamant, but you can be too

**littlelara** · November 12th, 2007, 07:12 PM

If it were me, I think I'd call them and say you would like to 'postpone' your induction, rather than just now showing up - they may be able to squeeze someone else in if they know you're not coming.
The way i see it, it's your birthing experience, and if you have no reason to believe the little one's in danger then surely a couple of extra days won't hurt. I agree with Snacks, too. An extra check may be in order and all that's required.
Lotsa luck!!

**ajw0108** · November 12th, 2007, 07:37 PM

Thanks for the replies, ladies... I've had a little rest & don't feel quite as panicky as before

I'm really, really hoping the acupuncture session tomorrow works its magic and all this worry will have been for nothing

Snacks/Littlelara - we tried the negotiation in the appointment today & got a flat out 'No, this is hospital protocol' from the Ob. (This isn't the first time she's been really difficult to deal with though - her bedside manner is just awful, which is something I'll take up when we give feedback. She even attempted a stretch & sweep during the internal today without getting my OK first! Not happy.)

**norquesta** · November 12th, 2007, 08:24 PM

Hi AJ,

Your not over till you have completed 42 week of pregnancy. Ask to see the hospital protocol, some hospitals have it on their web sites. Some hospital staff can't seem to remember hospital policy correctly or sometimes provide out of date information.

Also hospital policy are just guidelines, not laws and they are being constantly reviewed and different hospitals have different policies - maybe checking out the policies of other nearby hospitals would help you with the bigger picture.

It is dangerous to interfere in a pregnancy unless there is a serious problem.

If the hospital really wanted to protect the health of you and your baby because of concerns regarding over dates they would be inducing you on the Sunday morning not at 41 +6 days.

Hospitals operate 24hours, they can and should provide their services when you need them, not when it suits them.

I was 42 weeks with my first daughter, 41 + 5 with my second, two friends recently went 42 + 5 and 43. One of these women asked for daily monitoring so she knew what was happening with bub. The second women had a private midwife so it wasn't a big issue.

Enjoy all the natural hurry up baby methods, sometimes they work and most of them are fun

Most of all, savior every moment of this time, go out, make sure you have things to do written into your diary right up to and past your 42 week mark.

Now is the time to relax.

Very soon you will have your baby in your arms.

Deb

**Harri** · November 13th, 2007, 07:30 AM

Thanks for the replies, ladies... I've had a little rest & don't feel quite as panicky as before

I'm really, really hoping the acupuncture session tomorrow works its magic and all this worry will have been for nothing

Snacks/Littlelara - we tried the negotiation in the appointment today & got a flat out 'No, this is hospital protocol' from the Ob. (This isn't the first time she's been really difficult to deal with though - her bedside manner is just awful, which is something I'll take up when we give feedback. She even attempted a stretch & sweep during the internal today without getting my OK first! Not happy.)

HI aj... sorry to hear things are not turning out as you would have hoped... Induction or c-section was also mentioned to me if bubs is big!.... I have a scan next monday and am so scared that she'll be big and OB will say we need to induce her early!! What's the name of your OB..? if you don't mind telling... you could PM me... mine is very yes..no.. as well!

goodluck luv.. i hope bubs decides to make an appearance!!

xxx

**Haydies** · November 12th, 2007, 08:54 PM

AJ - Your story sounds almost identical to mine. I was booked into the birth center attached to my local hospital, but the second I hit 14 days overdue I was no longer allowed to birth there. Had I walked in on that 14th day already in labour, then I probably could have stayed, but as soon as they have to step in and induce, even just breaking the waters, you are taken by the labour ward only. Although where I was, you couldn't even go back to the birth center afterwards - once transfered, that's it.

Unfortunately I did have to be induced, and after fighting tooth and nail I ended up just having my waters broken - I took it from there. I had what I consider a natural birth after the breaking of the waters - all me, no further interventions and no pain relief. So it is definately possible. I had it in my head going in that I would only need my waters broken, nothing else and in the end that is all I needed.

As Antheia mentioned, if you just don't show up, be prepared for them to ring you. I missed a normal fortnightly visit once (over slept) and they were on the phone to me with in half an hour. When they were all talking about inducing me, they did say there I didn't have to take the induction, but once I went over 14 days I would have to have daily monitoring to ensure bubs stayed healthy. Not sure if that might be an option for you.

we tried the negotiation in the appointment today & got a flat out 'No, this is hospital protocol' from the Ob.

I never had an OB, but I came up against the brick wall "this is the way we do it" attitude when I was being induced. You can fight it though - as already mentioned, your body, your choice. Although, admitedly I didn't really fight ... Kelly did it all for me. (If you want to know more, I wrote my experience out here.)

**~Raven~** · November 12th, 2007, 08:58 PM

Have you seen this thread I don't understand... - BellyBelly Forums ~ Pregnancy, Birth & Baby

Thought you might get something from it to help you to discuss your plans if you need to be induced

ETA Haydies you posted while I was posting

**Haydies** · November 12th, 2007, 09:08 PM

I'm sneaky like that

**Snacks** · November 13th, 2007, 05:11 AM

So sorry AJ that your OB isn't respectful of you. We'll all have our fingers crossed that your acupuncture session gets things moving along for you today!

**Yael** · November 13th, 2007, 09:53 AM

I was induced with my DS at 11 days overdue, due to very low fluid levels (which meant the placenta wasn't working very well).

With my DD i managed to beat my induction by 2 days (was scheduled for 14 days over, which was my 2nd lot of dates, and i was happy to be induced then as i was sure that she was getting pretty far over, and my experience with my son).

With my son i started contracting the night before (the Sunday, was induced Mon morning). The Friday before i was already 3cm, which was good news. I think it was that i could finally relax and know i was having a child the next day that brought on the contractions. Because of this, i asked for just my waters to be broken to try and speed things along (would have been in very early labour, was 4cm on the Monday morning). I found that by asking in a nice way was the best way to achieve it, although i was a private patient and knew my obs.

I also didn't refuse the drip outright, i just asked for an hour or two not on it to see what would happen. But it did take a lot of work to try and get things happening (i had a great doula there to help) - being active, walking around that kind of thing. If i had just lay on the bed i don't think anything would have happened.

I was actually very happy with my induction - it was medically warranted so in no way do i have to feel guilty about it, as my baby's safety at that point was my no 1 priority. I felt that just having the ARM was a very gentle induction.

There are a number of posts on here about inductions - i will try and hunt them down for you. I know I've written before about how i felt about it.

It is scary and upsetting being induced - i know both times i found it upsetting - it just wasn't how i planned labour. But i would try talking to your caregivers (try the mids, not the obs maybe?), about it, rather than just not showing up.

Good luck! And lots of labour vibes

P.S. Induction doesn't necessarily mean that the rest of your plans for a natural birth need to go out the window, sometimes your body just needs a gentle push in the right direction.

**ajw0108** · November 18th, 2007, 07:34 PM

Hi ladies,

Just wanted to drop back in to sincerely thank you all for your advice & sharing your experiences.

As of 12.43am Saturday, I am the thrilled mama to a beautiful little girl.

After 2 acupuncture sessions and loads of positive thinking, we were still waiting by the time our induction date came round.

We had one lot of gel inserted at around 8am Friday and it was enough to dilate my cervix enough to allow the membranes to be ruptured. After quite a long wait for a Dr in the birth suites, my waters broke of their own accord (with slight merconium staining) and labour progressed naturally for as long as was safe for bubba and I, but after a long day, in the end I couldn't give enough 'oomph' to deliver her without a bit of help and the monitor showed she was starting to wear out as well. So she was finally delivered via vacuum extraction after a drug-free labour almost 7 hours from my waters breaking.

Our little girl was left with us for some great skin to skin and fed beautifully within 1/2 hour. I have a few stitches following an episiotomy but otherwise feel great! We were transferred back to the Birth Centre for some much needed rest and left to ourselves. We were home within 12 hours.

We couldn't be happier with the midwife from the labour ward of the hospital, the Drs on duty and the way our birth was managed in general. All my fears were totally dispelled plus some!

So once again, thank you all for your encouraging words!